Methods and apparatus to perform visual odometry using a vehicle camera system

Abstract

Methods, apparatus, systems, and articles of manufacture are disclosed to perform visual odometry using a monocular camera. An example apparatus includes a method fusioner to determine a visual odometry method using a surface characterization to calculate first odometry data, a displacement determiner to calculate second odometry data based on sensor information, an odometry calculator to calculate an odometry parameter of a target object with respect to a vehicle based on the first and the second odometry data, and a vehicle command generator to generate a vehicle command based on the odometry parameter.

What is claimed is: 
     
       1. An apparatus comprising:
 a method fusioner to:
 determine a visual odometry method using a surface characterization to calculate first odometry data; 
 calculate a first weight factor for the visual odometry method based on the surface characterization; and 
 calculate a second weight factor corresponding to an odometry method using sensor information; 
 
 a displacement determiner to calculate second odometry data based on the sensor information; 
 an odometry calculator to:
 multiply the first weight factor and the first odometry data to produce a first odometry parameter; 
 multiply the second weight factor and the second odometry data to produce a second odometry parameter; and 
 calculate a third odometry parameter of a target object with respect to a vehicle based on a fusion of the first odometry parameter and the second odometry parameter; and 
 
 a vehicle command generator to generate a vehicle command based on the third odometry parameter. 
 
     
     
       2. The apparatus of  claim 1 , further including a surface evaluator to determine the surface characterization by determining a light reflectivity of a surface on which the vehicle is traveling or whether the surface is uneven. 
     
     
       3. The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the visual odometry method is at least one of a ground feature tracking method or a global motion vector method. 
     
     
       4. The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the third odometry parameter is at least one of a lateral displacement, a longitudinal displacement, or a pose of the target object. 
     
     
       5. The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the sensor information includes at least one of a vehicle speed or a steering wheel angle. 
     
     
       6. The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the vehicle command includes moving the vehicle from a first position to a second position without user input. 
     
     
       7. The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the odometry calculator is to:
 obtain a first noise model corresponding to the visual odometry method; 
 obtain a second noise model corresponding to the odometry method; and 
 calculate the third odometry parameter by executing a tracking filter using the first and the second noise models. 
 
     
     
       8. A method comprising:
 determining a visual odometry method based on characterizing a surface to calculate first odometry data; 
 calculating a first weight factor for the visual odometry method based on characterizing the surface; 
 multiplying the first weight factor and the first odometry data to produce a first odometry parameter; 
 calculating second odometry data based on sensor information; 
 calculating a second weight factor corresponding to an odometry method using the sensor information; 
 multiplying the second weight factor and the second odometry data to produce a second odometry parameter; 
 calculating a third odometry parameter of a target object with respect to a vehicle based on a fusion of the first odometry parameter and the second odometry parameter; and 
 generating a vehicle command based on the third odometry parameter. 
 
     
     
       9. The method of  claim 8 , wherein characterizing the surface includes determining a light reflectivity of the surface or whether the surface is uneven. 
     
     
       10. The method of  claim 8 , wherein the visual odometry method is at least one of a ground feature tracking method or a global motion vector method. 
     
     
       11. The method of  claim 8 , wherein the third odometry parameter is at least one of a lateral displacement, a longitudinal displacement, or a pose of the target object. 
     
     
       12. The method of  claim 8 , wherein the sensor information includes at least one of a vehicle speed or a steering wheel angle. 
     
     
       13. The method of  claim 8 , wherein the vehicle command includes moving the vehicle from a first position to a second position without user input. 
     
     
       14. The method of  claim 8 , further including:
 obtaining a first noise model corresponding to the visual odometry method; 
 obtaining a second noise model corresponding to the odometry method; and 
 calculating the third odometry parameter by executing a tracking filter using the first and the second noise models. 
 
     
     
       15. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium comprising instructions which, when executed, cause a machine to at least:
 determine a visual odometry method based on characterizing a surface to calculate first odometry data; 
 calculate a first weight factor for the visual odometry method based on characterizing the surface; 
 multiply the first weight factor and the first odometry data to produce a first odometry parameter; 
 calculate second odometry data based on sensor information; 
 calculate a second weight factor corresponding to an odometry method using the sensor information; 
 multiply the second weight factor and the second odometry data to produce a second odometry parameter; 
 calculate a third odometry parameter of a target object with respect to a vehicle based on a fusion of the first odometry parameter and the second odometry parameter; and 
 generate a vehicle command based on the third odometry parameter. 
 
     
     
       16. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of  claim 15 , wherein the sensor information includes at least one of a vehicle speed or a steering wheel angle. 
     
     
       17. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of  claim 15 , wherein the instructions, when executed, cause the machine to:
 obtain a first noise model corresponding to the visual odometry method; 
 obtain a second noise model corresponding to the odometry method; and 
 calculate the third odometry parameter by executing a tracking filter using the first and the second noise models. 
 
     
     
       18. An apparatus comprising:
 a method fusioner to determine a visual odometry method based on a characterization of a surface to calculate first odometry data; 
 a displacement determiner to calculate second odometry data based on sensor information; 
 an odometry calculator to calculate an odometry parameter of a target object with respect to a vehicle based on the first odometry data and the second odometry data by executing a tracking filter using a first noise model corresponding to the visual odometry method and a second noise model corresponding to an odometry method using the sensor information; and 
 a vehicle command generator to generate a vehicle command based on the odometry parameter. 
 
     
     
       19. The apparatus of  claim 18 , wherein the odometry parameter is a third odometry parameter, and wherein:
 the method fusioner is to:
 calculate a first weight factor for the visual odometry method based on the characterization of the surface; and 
 calculate a second weight factor corresponding to the odometry method using the sensor information; and 
 
 the odometry calculator is to:
 multiply the first weight factor and the first odometry data to produce a first odometry parameter; 
 multiply the second weight factor and the second odometry data to produce a second odometry parameter; and 
 calculate the third odometry parameter based on a fusion of the first odometry parameter and the second odometry parameter. 
 
 
     
     
       20. The apparatus of  claim 18 , wherein the odometry parameter is at least one of a lateral displacement, a longitudinal displacement, or a pose of the target object.